


you're the one that i need (i'm the one that you loathe)

by vampire_achilles



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 2000s, 2000s emo culture briefly mentioned, 2009, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Breakfast, Crushes, Cute, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Field Trip, Fluff, High School, Hoodies, Hotels, Morning Person Rey, No Smut, Sleepy Ben Solo, Teenagers, Title is My Chemical Romance lyrics, bus rides, snacks, vending machines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29479014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampire_achilles/pseuds/vampire_achilles
Summary: The last thing Rey wanted was to be caught on a stormy night, alone in a dim hotel corridor, with Ben Solo.(or, a 2009 high school field trip story about snacks).Update: second chapter added!
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 15
Kudos: 155





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by my awkward teenage years in the mid-2000s, the importance of snack machines, and the legacy of My Chemical Romance (who else had tickets to see them in 2020 but now has to wait like I do? Life is pain).
> 
> ___
> 
> recommended listening for this story:
> 
>   
> "The Sharpest Lives" by My Chemical Romance (the title is lyrics from this song)  
> "Goodnight Goodnight" by Hot Hot Heat  
> "Northern Downpour" by Panic! At The Disco

The sound of rain pounding against her window woke her up. Lightning flashed outside, and Rey sat up, pulling the white sheets to her chest. 

Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and slid out of bed, padding over to her cheap gray Old Navy flip flops and shoving her feet into them. She grabbed her hotel key off the nightstand and looked back at her temporary roommate. 

Kaydel was stretched out on the bed beside hers, snoring loudly with one hand flung out above her head. Rey’s lips twitched and she gingerly opened the door, stepping out into the hotel corridor.

She started the walk down to the snack machine at the end of the hall, passing other rooms where her classmates slept. Rey couldn’t believe the school actually trusted them enough to send them on a field trip where all of the senior class could sleep so close to each other, especially when there weren’t even enough adult chaperones to cover each room, but here they were. 

All of it was for the new anatomy exhibit at the Greenway Science Center. The students who already dreamed of donning white coats and scrubs were practically salivating to get a good look at the interactive panels and talk to the exhibit’s curators, but Rey was just missing her own bed. 

She never slept well when she was away from her favorite blanket (Mulan-themed) and pillow (pink and soft). They had been all she had as she bounced from foster home to foster home, each more difficult than the last, until she’d landed with Maz. 

The older woman had taken one look at her and immediately started cooking. It was like she’d known instinctively that food- and the security it brought- was the way to Rey’s heart. 

Since that day in Maz’s kitchen (eating spaghetti and meatballs), Rey had felt safe enough to confide in Maz on occasion, and even accept some of her advice regarding her future. While Maz wasn’t going to adopt her officially, since Rey was so close to aging out of the system as it was, Maz was still her confidant, mentor, and home when Rey needed one.

It was a great setup. Not as great as Rey having her parents back, but it was all she could hope for at this point.

Rey was only a few feet away from the snack machine when the door closest to the machine opened. She paused, holding her breath. 

If the person about to come out was a chaperone, she might get in trouble for being out of her room at night. But the heavy head of black hair that emerged most certainly did _not_ belong to a mature adult. Rey sighed in exasperation as Ben Solo himself stumbled out of his hotel room and started heading toward the snack machine. 

It wasn’t enough that Ben had to tease her all of the time about her lack of artistic ability in Art IV (so what if her watercolors turned out more water than color?) and the way that her three hair buns bounced when she ran with her cross country team during practice (no, she wasn’t going to change her signature hair style to get him to stop). 

It wasn’t enough that Ben was the top of their class and the best artist in the school, with his paintings proudly displayed in the senior hallway. 

No, he had to tease her, smile at her, _wink_ at her all the time at school and then show up on this field trip at the exact moment when she was hungry, sleepy, and only wearing her oversized and dreadfully faded MTV T-shirt and shorter-than-necessary hand-me-down soffe shorts. 

His timing was uncanny.

It didn’t appear that he had seen her, so maybe she could sneak back to her room unnoticed? But her stomach growled loudly, so Rey squared her shoulders and headed toward her least favorite classmate, and, more importantly, the snacks that he was staring at.

“Excuse me,” Rey said when she was behind him. 

His giant body was in front of the machine, blocking her view of the snacks. Instead of M&M’s, Lay’s potato chips, and Frito’s, all she could see was the long, luxurious hair, broad shoulders, and sloping back that led to perfect legs and . . . but she didn’t care about Ben’s body, that was ridiculous. 

Just because he was admittedly good-looking didn’t mean that he wasn’t also a complete and utter thorn in her side. Or, as her best friend Poe would simply say, a _dick_. Of course, Poe also frequently teased Rey about Ben's unwavering attention toward her, but Rey certainly did not want to think about _that_ right now.

Ben was still standing silently in front of the machine in his all-black henley shirt and black sweatpants like a mopey emo statue. Who was he trying to be anyway, Gerard Way? Brendon Urie? Rey couldn’t think of any more emo guys off the top of her head. 

She tapped her foot and huffed.

“Excuse me!” she said, her voice just loud enough to make her cringe afterward. She really hoped that she hadn’t been heard by anyone else in their hotel rooms. The last thing Rey wanted was to be caught on a stormy night, alone in a dim hotel corridor, with Ben Solo.

Ben turned around slowly, blinking sleep out of his eyes which widened comically when he realized that Rey was with him. He plucked out the Apple earphones from beneath his long hair and pulled his fifth-generation black iPod nano out of his pocket. 

Rey heard the faint sounds of My Chemical Romance’s “The Sharpest Lives” before Ben pressed the pause button.

“Rey,” he said. Swallowing, he shoved the iPod nano back in his pocket and tucked the earphones around his neck.  
“How long have you been standing there?”

“The whole time you’ve been out here. I _tried_ to talk to you.” Rey rolled her eyes. “I’m hungry. Can you hurry up and pick out a snack? I’ve been waiting.”

“Oh, um, yeah,” Ben stammered. 

But he didn’t turn back around to the snack machine. Instead, his eyes flicked down to Rey’s legs and then, just as swiftly, popped back up to meet her eyes.

“Are you wearing pants?” he blurted.

“For fuck’s sake, Ben, yes, I am,” Rey snapped. 

"I didn't know you cussed."

Ben looked way too pleased, so Rey rolled up the hem of her oversized shirt, allowing the black shorts to peek through. 

“See? Not that it’s any of your business, but I wouldn’t just walk out here without clothes on!”

Ben smirked. He was seeming much more awake now, to Rey’s chagrin.

“Why not?” He grinned. “You wouldn’t have been expecting to see anyone.”

“You know, I really wasn’t,” Rey sighed. “But you just had to show up and now you’re blocking my view of the snacks.”

Ben shifted his weight, folding his arms across his chest. The movement drew Rey’s gaze, and she tried not to think about the muscles that his shirt couldn’t quite hide.

“I think you like the view just fine the way it is.”

Rey rolled his eyes. “You are . . . insufferable.”

“I see someone’s been studying her ACT vocabulary words.”

Without thinking, Rey put her hands on Ben’s left shoulder and attempted to shove him out of her way. But Ben stood firmly planted, solid as a slab of cold, muscular meat. His smile was deepening as he gazed down at her.

“Get . . . out . . . of the way!” Rey panted, still shoving. 

“Look, if you’re so hungry I’ll buy you something,” Ben said quickly.

Rey stopped and glared up at him. As if she couldn’t afford her own snack! As if she would take _anything from him_. But as she reached down to pat her shorts, she remembered that they didn’t have pockets, and that all of her spare change was in the back pocket of her dark blue skinny jeans . . . which were all the way back in her hotel room, stuffed unceremoniously under her bed.

Ben’s eyes tracked her hands as she patted her thighs, found exactly zero pockets, and then hung limply in defeat.

“Fine,” she grumbled. “I left my money in my other pants.”

Why did his whole face light up at the chance to feed her? And why did she find herself starting to relax as she and Ben lined up at the machine together?

“Let me guess what you want,” Ben suggested. Putting a finger to his chin, he hummed and pretended to look seriously at each individual snack, craning his neck and peering solemnly into the machine.

“Frito’s!” he cried out triumphantly. “You’re totally a Frito’s chick.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, just seems like you would like them.”

“Well, you’re wrong. Guess again.”

Ben groaned and leaned one arm against the machine. His other arm was moving suspiciously close to Rey, but it only came to rest on the other side of the machine. 

“Okay, okay. How about . . . Nerds? Because you are one!” 

From most people this might have been a direct insult, but Ben was looking at her with friendly approval as he said it. What a nerd.

“Really original, Ben. Guess again.”

“Ugh, this is harder than I thought.”

He glanced over at her, as if studying Rey’s features would give him the answer he needed. 

Rey grew warm under his thoughtful gaze, and then warm under the arm that had mysteriously drifted from the machine to rest across her shoulders. She stiffened, the automatic urge to duck away from him and run screaming down the hall rising up in her mind. But her body had other ideas as she found herself remaining still and comfortable under his arm and . . . what was that fluttering in her stomach? 

Rey couldn’t look at him, not with his arm like that. Ben wasn’t looking at her anymore either. His cheeks glowed bright red under the dim fluorescent lights as he glued his gaze back on the snack machine. Somehow seeing how nervous he was, in spite of his bold choice to put his arm around her, made Rey brave, and she laughed.

“My favorite are Reese’s cups,” she admitted. For some reason her body had drifted closer to Ben’s- she was cold, that was it- and she lightly rested her head on his shoulder. She felt rather than heard his sharp intake of breath, and then his arm gently tightened around her. 

“Ben, I’m tired. Can you get the snacks so I can go back to sleep?”

“Of course,” Ben murmured. 

His voice had gone soft, a total shift from his teasing banter from before. With his free hand, he fed coins into the machine until the Reese’s cups fell down, and then Rey bent to scoop them out of the slot. The movement jostled Ben’s arm away from her, and he looked disappointed when she stood back up.

Feeling a painful jolt in her chest, she stared up into his deep brown eyes. They kind of looked like chocolate, come to think of it. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?

“Want to share?” she smiled.

Ben smiled back, his eyes twinkling. “No. Those are all for you.”

And that’s how Rey discovered, for the first time, that Ben was completely and utterly crush-worthy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She found herself sitting by him, letting the still-sleepy Ben rest his head on _her_ shoulder this time, and the warmth that spread from her head to her toes just couldn’t be ignored. Maybe this thing between them wasn’t something to be scared of, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, y'all were really nice and encouraged me to write more . . . so I did! I think this will be the end of their story, but it was really fun to develop what happened to Ben and Rey after their fateful encounter at the snack machine. Thank you for reading along!

Rain still poured against the hotel window, the devastatingly loud alarm clock still blared, and Rey still stood in front of the mirror with her eyes narrowed.

“Kaydel, you’d better get up,” she reminded her roommate over her shoulder. Kaydel covered her ears and flopped over onto her stomach, burrowing into her bed with a groan. Rey shrugged and leaned closer to the mirror.

Her soft brown hair hung messily down just past her shoulders, looking a bit worse for wear, so she ran the comb through it again, and again. Just when it was starting to look manageable, Rey noticed the coffee stain on the front of her turquoise Hollister T-shirt. The stain was blessedly small, but it just _had_ to be stretched across her right breast, making it more noticeable than it would have been otherwise. Not exactly the best location.

Groaning, she brushed at the stain, but of course her hands couldn’t remove something that was who knows how old. Rey didn’t drink coffee, unless java chip frappuccinos counted, so it wasn’t from her. Her shirt came from Goodwill, as did the majority of her wardrobe. Apparently the previous owner had been a little messier than Rey realized when she’d bought the brand-name top at half its original price.

Rey sighed and stepped into her low-rise American Eagle jeans (hand-me-downs from a former foster sister). Normally she wouldn’t care so much about what she was wearing and how her hair looked, but . . . and this was embarrassing . . . she, Rey, had never had a crush before. 

Last night had been a small but heart-thumping revelation. When she’d left Ben at his room’s door, he had been looking at her as if she had made his entire day, maybe even his entire week. And maybe a little like he wanted to kiss her. She’d practically floated back to her room, even while inside she was kicking herself a little for actually having a crush on _Ben Solo_ , the guy she'd been pretending to hate all year.

And what were you supposed to wear when you _liked_ someone? Ben seemed to like how she looked normally, but he’d certainly never expressed that in words. Besides, Rey didn’t want to dress herself for a boy, but she wanted to look . . . well, nice. Just in case.

Before she could change her top or agonize over her appearance any more (did her butt always poke out in the back like that? Did the jeans make it too obvious?), a chaperone knocked on their door. It took Rey ten minutes to help Kaydel out of bed and into her own outfit for the day, and then the two of them were rushing down to the hotel’s breakfast bar.

All of their classmates were already crowding the room, jostling for the best cold Danish at the counter or sitting blearily at the tables, blinking sleep out for their eyes. Ben was among the latter, and Rey felt herself flush at the sight of him. His long arms spread out languidly over his solitary table, providing a pillow of sorts for his head, and he looked moments away from returning to dreamland.

Rey held back a grin, and, after filling her plate with two bagels and an apple, she headed straight for the blissfully unaware Ben. He jumped as she set her plate down right in front of his sleepy head. 

“Good morning,” Rey said brightly, and she laughed as Ben’s eyes blinked rapidly. 

He stared at her for a moment, face blank, and then he abruptly straightened up and ran a quick hand through his dark hair.

“Rey, uh, hi.” His voice sounded deep and sleepy, and Rey couldn’t help but shiver slightly at the sound. Thankfully she managed to shake off the feeling so she could keep annoying him.

“Hi, Ben! Have you eaten yet? What time did you wake up?” 

She giggled as he let out a groan and slumped back down on the table top. 

His next words were muffled into his arm. “Rey . . . you are being the _worst_ right now. Are you always like this in the mornings?”

“Like what?”

Ben sighed and glanced up at her again from beneath his long lashes. Rey took in a quick breath and started chewing on her bagel, conscious the whole time of the distinct feeling of his gaze.

“You’re a morning person, aren’t you?” 

He said it the same way one might say “you’re an axe murderer, aren’t you?” and Rey let herself grin.

“I am, and I’m proud of it. Although it looks like I may be the only one here.” 

Rey and Ben both looked around the room. Most of their classmates were yawning and silent, with only traces of conversation here and there. Meanwhile, the chaperones and their teacher, Mr. Jackson, spoke quietly as they downed multiple cups of coffee at their own adult table.

Ben’s eyes slid back to Rey, who was now happily on her second bagel. “You’re one of a kind, that’s for sure.”

Rey laughed again, not bothering to lower her volume even as a few other students glared at her, but it was all worth it. Because this time, Ben smiled at her. His eyes had softened and dimples had appeared near the corners of his lips. Rey found herself sinking into this feeling, that she _liked_ Ben and it really seemed that he liked her, too. It was . . . really nice. Something she could get used to.

Before she could tease Ben some more, Mr. Jackson rounded up the students and began leading them toward the hotel exit. They were going to crowd onto the school bus and make their way to the Greenway Science Center, where they would spend a day of education and fun. 

So why did Rey’s stomach clench as they walked toward the bus? 

This wasn’t a date, it was a field trip. She didn’t even have to sit by Ben on the bus. They weren’t officially boyfriend and girlfriend, they were just talking. Or maybe they weren’t anything at all? In fact, she should probably sit by Poe, her best friend, who she hadn’t even talked to all morning yet. She scanned the crowd of students for him, finally catching sight of the curly-haired boy. He was chatting animatedly with the new boy, Finn, and something in his gaze made Rey realize that Poe had temporarily forgotten about her as well. 

She would have been offended if she herself weren’t walking close to Ben and laughing at every word he managed to eke out. 

But once on the bus, her doubts faded as Ben slid into the seat that was right above the wheel, folded up his long legs, and smiled expectantly at her. She found herself sitting by him, letting the still-sleepy Ben rest his head on _her_ shoulder this time, and the warmth that spread from her head to her toes just couldn’t be ignored. Maybe this thing between them wasn’t something to be scared of, after all. 

By the time the bus rolled up to the science center parking lot, the rain had picked up from a drizzle to a steady downpour, and Ben’s snoring had increased dramatically. Rey let the other students file past her down the aisle, raising her eyebrows meaningfully at Poe when he walked by with his hand in Finn’s (Poe just looked at Ben on her shoulder and smirked). Once the others had gone by, Rey reached her hand around Ben’s shoulder and lightly shook.

“Ben, it’s time to get up.” She was surprised at how gentle her voice sounded when she spoke to him like this. No matter how cute he was while he slept, this just wouldn’t do. She cleared her throat and tried again.

“BEN!”

Like he had done earlier at breakfast, Ben jolted up in confusion, fingers rubbing at his eyes and then carding through his messy hair. Rey couldn’t help but place a comforting hand on the side of his face, which made Ben freeze and stare at her in awe.

“It’s time to go, Ben.” Her voice was soft again.

Ben took her hand from his face and laced his fingers between hers so quickly that Rey let out a little gasp.

“Is this okay?” he asked. His low tone made her shiver again as she nodded, and this time he noticed. “Are you cold?”

Before she could answer, Ben swung his head around to peer at the rain pounding on the bus windows. “Wow, it’s really coming down out there. Here, take my hoodie.”

Rey finally found her voice as Ben let go of her hand and began shrugging out of his black hoodie, revealing a blessedly tight red polo underneath.

“Oh, no, Ben, I’m good-”

“You’re wearing short sleeves and it’s raining. No, Rey, you need this.”

He shoved the hoodie into her lap and paused, his eyes landing on her chest. Rey folded her arms and glared at him.

“Excuse me?!” she huffed.

Ben leaned back and looked into her eyes. “Sorry, but did you know you have a coffee stain on your shirt?”

Rey rolled her eyes and put his hoodie on, marveling at the warmth and the smell that it brought with it: Old Spice Everclear deodorant and just a hint of Irish Spring bar soap. How could a piece of clothing be so . . . _Ben_? 

Ben was frankly staring at her, now cozily clad in his hoodie. The atmosphere between them had changed quickly. The air around them now seemed to be crackling with unspoken words and hidden yearnings. Rey chuckled nervously and shifted in her seat. They would surely be noticed by the chaperones if they didn’t hurry up and join the others.

“Well, we should probably go-” she started to say, but then Ben was inching toward her. At the same time, his hand came up to lightly touch her hair. 

Her eyelids fluttered shut as Ben’s soft lips met hers. His fingers were caressing the back of her head, and she leaned into his touch and melded her lips to his. She was pretty sure there were fireworks going off in her chest, her heart was pounding so hard, and she knew her cheeks had to be blushing. Ben slowly pulled away and smiled at her. His own cheeks were candy apple red, and Rey giggled at the sight.

She stood up and reached out a hand to Ben, fully aware that they were both still beaming like idiots and not caring one bit.

“All right, Ben. Let’s do this thing.”

With his fingers clasped firmly in hers, they walked off the bus into the pouring rain and broke into a run together across the parking lot, laughing the whole way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to Google popular men's deodorants in 2009 for this chapter. Ah, the random things you do for fanfic.


End file.
